Neon Glow Pulse Text
Soft neon that breathes: a blurred copy of the word behind it swells and fades on a slow cycle. Only the copy's opacity and scale animate, so the glow is cheap even at large sizes.
Also known as: glowing text css, pulsing glow text, glow text animation.
After Dark
HTML
<div class="txt-neon-glow-pulse" data-text="After Dark">After Dark</div>
CSS
.txt-neon-glow-pulse {
--c: var(--txt-color, #3b82f6);
font-size: var(--txt-size, 32px);
font-family: system-ui, sans-serif;
font-weight: 700;
line-height: 1.2;
position: relative;
display: inline-block;
isolation: isolate;
color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 30%, #fff);
letter-spacing: 0.03em;
text-shadow: 0 0 0.01em var(--c), 0 0 0.03em var(--c), 0 0 0.1em var(--c);}
.txt-neon-glow-pulse::before {
content: attr(data-text);
position: absolute;
inset: 0;
z-index: -1;
color: var(--c);
filter: blur(0.22em);
opacity: 0.2;
animation: txt-neon-glow-pulse-breathe 2.8s ease-in-out infinite alternate;
}
@keyframes txt-neon-glow-pulse-breathe {
to { opacity: 1; transform: scale(1.06); }
}
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
.txt-neon-glow-pulse, .txt-neon-glow-pulse *, .txt-neon-glow-pulse::before, .txt-neon-glow-pulse::after, .txt-neon-glow-pulse *::before, .txt-neon-glow-pulse *::after {
animation-duration: 0.01ms !important;
animation-iteration-count: 1 !important;
transition-duration: 0.01ms !important;
}
}Tailwind CSS version
The same effect using Tailwind utility classes. No custom CSS or config needed.
<div class="relative isolate inline-block text-4xl font-bold text-blue-200 [text-shadow:0_0_2px_#fff,0_0_6px_#3b82f6]"> <span class="absolute inset-0 -z-10 text-blue-500 blur-md animate-pulse" aria-hidden="true">After Dark</span> After Dark </div>
Customizing this snippet
- Color: set
--txt-coloron the element or a parent. Currently previewing#3b82f6. - Font size: set
--txt-size. Every other dimension is inem, so the whole thing scales together. Currently previewing40px. - Speed: change the duration on the
transitionoranimationshorthand. Staggered delays are relative, so they keep their rhythm. - Reduced motion: the rule at the end of the CSS turns the motion off for people who asked their OS for less of it. Keep it.